2.0 Analysis 2.1 General The investigation identified no aircraft discrepancies that would have contributed to the accident. Therefore, the analysis will focus on the cross-wind and runway conditions, the pilot's take-off technique, and post-crash survival factors. 2.2 Take-off Management The pilot had many variables to consider in this departure. A combination of variables - a strong, gusting cross-wind, an uphill runway slope, a grass runway surface, and an aircraft weight at or near maximum - required that the take-off be well managed in order for it to be completed successfully. It is probable that the pilot elected to accomplish the take-off without flaps because of the strong cross-wind. Although this configuration would have enabled better cross-wind handling, it would have extended the ground run and increased the distance required to clear the obstacles in the clearway zone of the runway. The pilot may not have recognized that the take-off would require careful management in the existing conditions, as evidenced by her leaving an estimated 200feet of usable runway behind the aircraft before beginning the take-off run. The take-off performance figures in the Aircraft Flight Manual indicate that with proper pilot technique, the aircraft was capable of departing from the runway and clearing the existing obstacles in the available distance, with several hundred feet to spare. It is probable, therefore, that the pilot attempted to climb the aircraft at less than the best-angle-of-climb speed as she approached the trees and brush in the clearway zone of runway 10, and that the aircraft remained at low airspeed, on the back side of the power curve, until the stall occurred. There was little or no headwind component to reduce the take-off distance, and the aircraft may have actually encountered a downwind gust after liftoff; however, this could not be determined. The aircraft stall occurred at an altitude that precluded successful recovery. 2.3 Post-Crash Fire Survival It is highly probable that the pilot would have survived the accident if the post-crash fire had not occurred. Several factors - the location of the fuel reservoir tank and the fuel lines below the cabin floor, the unprotected positions of the fuel gascolator and carburettor, and the wet wing design of the fuel tanks, etc. - may have contributed to the initiation, intensity, and rapid spread of the post-crash fire. Since the aircraft came to rest upright, and the fuel shut-off valve remained in the open position with the fuel selector on the right tank position, gravity would have caused fuel to continue to flow from the right wing tank and spill from the damaged gascolator and carburettor. Fuel would have also continued to flow from the left wing tank if the associated fuel lines upstream of the fuel selector had sustained impact damage. Several manufacturers have voluntarily improved fuel system designs in their newest aircraft models. Examples of these improvements include routing fuel system components away from occupied areas, increasing the distance between fuel tanks and the passenger cabin, reinforcing fuel tanks internally to prevent rupture due to fluid inertia forces during a crash, and isolating potential ignition sources from areas of probable fluid leakage. 3.0 Conclusions 3.1 Findings as to Causes and Contributing Factors The aircraft stalled after take-off at an altitude where recovery was not possible, and it crashed. It is probable that the pilot did not achieve the required best-angle-of-climb speed after lift-off and that the aircraft remained at low airspeed, on the back side of the power curve, until the stall occurred. It is highly probable that the pilot sustained non-life-threatening impact injuries; however, she succumbed to the thermal effects of the fuel-fed, post-crash fire. 3.2 Findings as to Risk The aircraft was not fitted with a crashworthy fuel system design that might have prevented or reduced the intensity of the post-crash fire, nor is it required on new or existing aircraft models by existing regulation. There is no requirement for the clearways at a registered aerodrome to be maintained clear of vegetation; the original clearway zone at the departure end of runway 10 was overgrown with brush and trees up to approximately 30 feet in height. 3.3 Other Findings The aircraft was certified and equipped in accordance with existing regulations, and there was no indication of any engine or system malfunction. In the existing conditions, the aircraft was capable of departing from the runway and clearing the obstacles in the available distance. The aircraft was fitted with front seat belt and shoulder harness assemblies that could have impeded rapid escape from the aircraft; however, it was determined that these assemblies were not a factor in this occurrence. 4.0 Safety Action 4.1 Action Taken Following this occurrence, the aerodrome operator removed the trees on the clearway at the departure end of runway 10 at the Calling Lake aerodrome. Transport Canada is developing a new commercial pilot training program, Integrated Commercial Pilot Training Program, to reduce the incidence of accidents of this type. The goal of this program is to prepare student pilots more effectively for employment in a commercial air service. It is anticipated that pilots in an integrated program will be exposed, under controlled conditions with the guidance of an instructor, to the conditions they are likely to encounter operationally, including the kind of conditions described in this report. Upon identification of seat belt and shoulder harness design deficiencies that could impede rapid escape from the aircraft, the operator removed the S2070 style seat belt and shoulder harness assemblies and installed S2275 style assemblies in the other three Cessna 177 Cardinal aircraft in the fleet. 4.2 Safety Concern In this accident it is highly probable that the pilot sustained non-life-threatening impact injuries but died due to the effects of the post-impact fire; the passenger sustained serious burns. As indicated by a review of the FAA and TSB databases, the problem of post-crash fire is not unique to any single model of aircraft, nor is it a particularly infrequent event. Furthermore, the TSB study on post-impact fire accidents involving aircraft under 5700 kg indicates that fire or smoke inhalation was identified as either partly or solely the cause of death for almost 30 percent of the 677 fatalities over the 25-year period. While the design principles for crashworthy fuel systems are well known, a review of the CARs and the FARs indicates that there are, at present, no airworthiness standards that require enhanced technical countermeasures to be fitted to light aircraft to reduce the incidence of post-crash fire in circumstances other than gear-up landings. The Board is concerned that, in general, the fuel systems in small aircraft do not provide adequate protection against crash-induced fires. A fire, in an otherwise survivable accident, puts the aircraft occupants at unnecessary risk. The Board will continue its investigation into this safety issue, including an assessment of the adequacy of current regulations.